World News - Congressional Leaders Challenge FBI Raid on U.S. House Office

House and Senate leaders challenged the constitutionality of an FBI raid on a lawmaker's office, saying it broke a 219-year precedent and raised concerns about the separation of power between the administration and Congress. ``The actions of the Justice Department in seeking and executing this warrant raise important constitutional issues,'' House Speaker Dennis Hastert, an Illinois Republican, said in a statement last night. ``I expect to seek a means to restore the delicate balance of power among the branches of government that the founders intended.'' House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi of California and Senate Majority Leader Leader Bill Frist, a Tennessee Republican, also expressed concern about the constitutional implications of the Saturday night raid of Louisiana Democratic Representative William Jefferson's office in the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill. ... http://quote.bloomberg.com

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was set to hold talks at the Pentagon and the White House on Tuesday, seeking during his first visit to Washington to coordinate policy on the Palestinians and the Iranian nuclear crisis. Olmert's meeting with Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld will provide an opportunity to exchange assessments about Tehran's uranium enrichment program, which both the United States and Israel fear could lead to a nuclear-armed Iran. "I don't want to go into details," a senior Israeli official said about planned discussions on Iran. "I can tell you that the coordination we had in the past is going to continue and probably improve." Israel, the only nuclear power in the Middle East, has said it wants to take a back seat in international diplomatic efforts to resolve the Iranian crisis but views seriously Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's calls for its destruction. ...http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=1993013

A Senate Democrat yesterday introduced a proposal to expand the pool of illegal aliens eligible for citizenship to include anyone who sneaked across the border before Jan. 1. Under the amendment filed yesterday afternoon by Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, all illegals who can prove they arrived before the start of this year would be issued an "orange card," which would provide a path to U.S. citizenship. "This amendment would streamline the process for earned legalization," Mrs. Feinstein said, referring to the process by which an estimated 10 million to 12 million illegals could become citizens. "It would create a more workable and practical program and dedicate the necessary dollars to cover its costs of administration." Under the bill being debated in the Senate, illegal aliens who came into the country within the past two years would still be subject to deportation. Illegals who had been here two years or longer could apply for citizenship. ...http://www.washingtontimes.com/national/20060523-124019-3285r.htm

Mark Inglis, an amputee who conquered Mount Everest on artificial legs last week, yesterday defended his party's decision to carry on to the summit despite coming across a dying climber. As his team climbed through the "death zone," the area above 26,000 feet where the body begins to shut down, they passed David Sharp, 34, a stricken British climber who later died. His body remained on the mountain. Mr. Inglis, 47, a New Zealander, said: "At 28,000 feet it's hard to stay alive yourself. He was in a very poor condition, near death. We talked about [what to do for him] for quite a lot at the time and it was a very hard decision. "About 40 people passed him that day, and no one else helped him apart from our expedition. Our Sherpas (guides) gave him oxygen. He wasn't a member of our expedition, he was a member of another, far less professional one." Mr. Sharp was among eight persons who have died on Everest this year, including another member of his group, a Brazilian. ...http://www.washingtontimes.com/world/20060522-110420-9433r.htm

Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra formally took back the reins of power on Tuesday, chairing a cabinet meeting almost two months after he came under fire from critics and announced he was taking a break."Certainly," Thaksin replied with a broad smile when asked if he was back in charge of a country which has suffered economically from the political chaos which has prevailed since an inconclusive April 2 general election was declared unlawful. High on the agenda was getting approval for some of the $43 billion of infrastructure projects put on hold after the election left parliament unable to meet to choose a new prime minister. The first to be discussed would be a plan for new underground railway routes for Bangkok to stimulate economic growth which is slipping due to high oil prices and the absence of a date for a re-run election, hobbling government decision making. ...http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=1993058

A 500-pound bear escaped from an animal breeder Monday, entered a neighboring home and attacked a woman, a state wildlife officer said. The victim was expected to survive, and the bear was lured out of the house and shot to death by the breeder, said Reno Reda of the state Department of Natural Resources wildlife division. The owner of Grand River Fur Exchange, Mark Gutman, was attempting to enter the bear's cage to clean it when the animal escaped, Reda said. The bear walked into a neighbor's garage, Reda said. A 15-year-old girl saw the animal and fled into the house, but the bear pushed the door open behind her and followed her inside, Reda said. ...http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=1993075